Portable radio receiver



March 26, 1946. R. J. wHlPPu-:

.PORTABLE RADIO REGEiVER s She ets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb; 11, 1943 R. J. WHIPPLE 2 ,3

PORTABLE RADIO RECEIVER March 26, 1946.

Filed Feb. 11, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 26, 1946. R. J. WHIPPLE I 2,397,306

PORTABLE RADIO RECEIVER Filed Feb. 11, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet s Patented Mar. 26, 1946 -uN1Ten STATES: OFFICESQ 2,397,305. PORTABLERADIO RECEIVER mantra Whipple, Phil d n a, Baa es snea to, Philco. Rad o. and Televis on. C rp ra io lihiladelphia. 13a 8 c rat n qt ilalaware.

ApplieationFebr-uary 11, 19913,:Serial 47.5530;

whim-1.4).

9 Claims.

This invention relates to portable radio receivers, and has special reference to the construction and arrangement of the control elements and tuning indication means for such receivers;

Heretofore, portable receivers have either had the controls and dials mounted exteriorly of one side wall of the receiver casing, or a hinged door cit-some sliding closure meanshas been provided;

Both such constructions have proven objectionable in certain respects. For example, the unprotected exterior mounting has been unsightly, and has had the disadvantage that the projecting controls might be struck anddamaged; while the use ofdoors has proven unhandy and costly. Moreover, with all prior constructionsit has been very inconvenient, if not impossible, to adjust the receiver while carrying the same, as the dial scale has not been visible and, at best, control was a two-handed operation.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the presentinvention to overcome the aforesaid disadvantages by the provision of a portable receiver in which the control and indication elements are mounted in a safe and attractive location, and are adapted for ready use while the set is beingcarri'ed. i

More particularly, the invention has as an object'the provision of a'receiver having a carry ing handle, in which handle the control and in- 30 dication elements are attractively andeonveniently' mounted.

' A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a comfortably configured handle of curved contour, mounted upon the surface of the casing, and having tuning indication means extending along its curved upper surface, and manual control elements recessed in the handle structure within easy reach of the fingers.

It is also an object ofthe invention to provide a handle of the above type which is suitably con-.- structed to accommodate and conceal both the controldrive elements leading to the. receiver, and the actuating means for the tuning indicator. Still another objectv of the invention; resides in the provision of such a carrying handle in which the tuning scale is readable from a distance and. the. scale cover is configured: to continue the contours of said .handle. Itis also an object. at the invention to. provide. handle of the. above character which. is. con.- structed of cooperatin sections. within which the necessary mounting and guide mechanisms may be readily formed and provided.

A stilt further object of: the invention resides, in. theprovision: of a radio carrying handle having a flexible indicator-driving"element concealed. therein and suitable guide and mounting means therefor; i

The manner in. which the. above objects and advantages are realized; together with others in-. cident to the invention, will be clear-from a consideration of the following description, taken with the-accompanying drawings, in which:=

Figure l is a perspective view of" a portable radiov receiver embodying the invention; a

Figure 2 1s a rearelevational view of the re"-.. ceiverwith one; cabinet panel removed, and with, a portion or the-chassis broken away for thesake of betterillustration Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating in greater detail certain portions. of the mechanism showniinFigureZ;

Figure 41s an approximately full scale per spective-- view of the two cooperating handle sec.-. tions', and illustrates. the manner in which the. tuning: indicator drive element. is. mounted therein; and Figure is: a perspective view of a portion oi?- t-hehandle, after assembly-of the two sections.

Briefly, as will be evident from the abovejfigs ures,- theinvent-ion provides a radio receiver hav-: ing a. novel carrying handle structure withinwhich. is arranged the tuning indicatordrive element-;- the construction and arrangement being such that the indicator itself is constrained to follow a path in readily viewable position closely adjacent to the curved upper surface of said handle. Suitable radio controls extend above the receiver and are for the most part recessed into. and are partially concealed by the handle. In the embodiment illustrated, these controlslare located closely adiaeentt th abinet a d beheath eitherend portion of t e handle s ru tur and, a brought. out herdn t r they" p e e ably comprise ad ustment means o the con entional-tun condenser an volume cont ol.-

Referrin ar particu ar y o F gur 1. a 2 of, the, drawings, there is. illustrated a radio cabmet 1- having; a. carrying handlev generally indie.-

cated at 2... This-cab ne re erab vh s a remo able. wall-panel 3 eady. ac es her o. the panel norm l y bein retain d. by suitable-ties: teners. 4-4,. seen. in e. L cated beh nd rill i5. is th env ntiaaal speaker .e' re: ceiver items qu pped: with uita l tuninsme n 8 and volume control means 9 adapted'for actuation by the. upwardly extending short shafts, and II, respectively. l

As the invention does not reside in the radio elements, per se, the receiver components have not been indicated in detail, and it is suiiicient to state that the usual on-off volume control 9 is operatively associated with shaft H and carried by the chassis structure i2. Similarly, the

V tuning mechanism 8, preferably taking the form of a conventional variable condenser, may conveniently be mounted directly'on-the shaft, l3,

for actuation thereby. A cord l4 and cooperating drive wheel I 5 serve to actuate the tuning mecha means of bolts (not shown) passing throughthe cooperating bolt holes I 'l-l 1, formed in the base portion of'said section. Adapted tocooperate withTthis primarysection is aisecondary or .closure section 18 of similariperipheral contour; the

' sections preferably being made ofsome'suitable plastic by 'a molding process; although it' will be the handle sections have formed therein undercut portions indicated generally at 32 and 32a, which are spaced to register with the points of emergence of the shafts l0 and II, while semi-circu-- lar cut-outs'33 and 33a cooperate to provide upper bearings for said shafts. As best seen in Figures 2 and 5, the control knobs are almost entirely recessed into the handle structure, extending outwardly a distance just great enough toafiord easy manipulation thereof.

, It will be evident that by a re-design of cer-- -tain details, the knobs may be arranged to ex- :tendinwardly toward the finger opening beneath 7 the ha ndle,@should such be desired. In either .case, the ,knobs will lie within easy reach of the 7 fingers, evenwhen the set is being carried.

understood that any desired material or method of manufacture may be employed.

Making special reference to F gures?! and 5 of the drawings, it will be seen that'these molded sections comprise external rounded wall por-.

tions 19 and 19a which extend toward the longitudinal general y centra portion of the handle, terminating there infiat coplanar marginal portions 20 and 20a, cooperatin to 'form'the lowercurved'surface of the assembled structure. as well as the rounded contour of either end of the handle. vThe'upper surface ofea'ch section is recessedas at 2| arid 2lajand'tl'ieserecessed portions have cooperating retainingwalls i2: and

2211, so sloped as'to firmly'engage thetransparent scale cover 23, which is provided with suit-.

able indicia asat 24.. The indicia may be applied directly to the' cover, as shown. or may be: positioned beneath it, for example, by anplicae tion to the aforementioned recessed surface..

The'inner longitudinal zone of each recessed portion terminates'in a fiat marginal edge, seen at 25 and 25a. respectively; said edges being co- 1 v planar with the portions 20 and 20a, respectively,

and when the sections are interfitted, there is uninterrupted bearing contact between-these ribs 26 must terminate short of the curved edge sections, as

portion 20, to acco'mmodate'the indicator driv-v ing element, as later'desc'ribed. Also, primary section 16' has formed therein a narrow elongated portion 21, recessed with respect to the main recessed portions 2|, and 2la, to form (as appears tobest advantagein Figure 5) 'a central track m the indicator driving element.

as shown at 28 and 280., the two handle sec-l tions are further, provided with internally threaded securing projections, theouter surfaces of which lie in'the plane of the aforementioned coplanar marginal edges and are in registry with one another when the halves are assembled.

Screws 29, seen in Figures 1 and 2," are then utilized-to maintain the sections in assembled rela- To accommodate the control lsnobs w and 3|,

' Considering now the indicator driving arrange ment, handle section l6 has small dowel-like rods 34, 35 and 36, formed thereonwhich are adapted to extend centrally into butt contact with the corresponding flat portions 341;, 35a, and 36a, molded in relief into the handle section l8. Asshown in the drawings,-these rods are preferably provided with bearing sleeves 31. Ingeneral, in the preferred form, the indicator and tuning drive system comprises a continuous flexible element such as a cord l4, having upper and lower cord runs in the handle, shown at A and B, respectively, all adapted to be driven by rotation of shaft H]. An indicating pointer or button38 is fixed to the cord in the upper run thereof, by any convenient means, and cooperates with the scale indicia 24 to indicate the frequency or other identification of the desired transmitting station. At its lower end, shaft I0 carries a driving pulley 39 about which the cord l 4 is wrapped, from which point the cord extends laterally to an idler pulley 40, and thence upwardly. and downwardly into association with the indicator and the condenser drive wheel I5,

respectively. 7

' It; will/be understood that any desireddriving V portion A, carrying pointer 38, runs in recess 21, thereby causing the pointertoyfollow the curved handle in cooperation withthe scale. "From recess 21, the cord runs downwardly around .pin 35, through an aperture 4| in the handle structure and an aperture 42 in casing I and thence around'idler pulley 40 and the driving portion of shaft lilinto engagement with the'condenser drive wheel [5. From this wheel the cord returns upwardly past the idler pulley, through the apertures 4| and 42, over bearing rod 34 and thence along the curved lower inside surface of section 16 beneath the ribs 26. From this point, as clearly appears in Figure 4, the cord passes around rod 36 and thence returns again through the slot 21 The cord is tensioned by the spring 43, one .end of which may beinserted in one of the adjusting holes 44, in accordamass The: control knobs. ac and :31; are. first. fitted over the upw-ardly extending-ends of'shaits. l0. and I. I, afterwhich the primary handleisection l 8; is: fixed, astbymeans: of bolts passing through the taper! tures lT-'-l"I- into the casing I Following this-,the. cord is brought up from the tuning drive elements through aperture 42 and is placed around the bearing elements 34, 35 and 36, with the upper portion in slot 21, as shown in Fig. 4. Finally, after the indicator 38 has been properly positioned, the scale is inserted and cooperating handle section I8 is fixed to section l6 by means of the screws 29, thereby completing the assembly.

From the foregoing description, it will be evident that the invention provides an unusually at tractive and convenient radio control and tuning indicator arrangement, which obviates the necessity for doors, projecting controls and the like. Moreover, although the desirable curved form of handle may be used, the structure is such that there is no sacrifice of smoothness and accuracy in the indicating mechanism. Further, the dial scale provided is so positioned as to be readable with unusual ease, and the location of the control elements is such that the receiver may be readily adjusted, either when stationary or in transit. In this connection, it is to be noted that the controls may be manipulated and the indicator dial observed, while carrying the receiver, without raising it from the normal carrying position. In fact, the user may manipulate the controls with the fingers of same hand which is being used to carry the receiver.

Since important features of the invention reside in the location and general arrangement of the elements, rather than in the structure of the elements per se, the indicating apparatus may take other forms and be differently operated, if desired. Moreover, the receiver elements controlled by the adjusting knobs may be varied from those illustrated herein, or additional controls may be added by the provision of split knobs and the like. In general, although a preferred embodiment has been illustrated, it will be understood that the invention is susceptible of modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A portable radio receiver including a casing and a carrying handle having a gripping portion, means in said casing for controlling the operation of said receiver including a resonance-varying device, a tuning scale and a cooperating movable indicator in the gripping portion of said handle, and means operatively interconnecting said resonance-varying device and said indicator, whereby variation of said device effects corresponding movement of said indicator with relation to said scale.

2. A portable radio receiver including a. casing and a carrying handle having a gripping portion and end portions secured to said casing, means in,

said casing for controlling the operation of said receiver including a resonance-varying device, tuning indication means in the gripping portion of said handle, tuning actuation means at least partially recessed beneath an end portion of said handle and arranged within easy reach of the fingers adjacent the upper surface of said casing, and means operatively interconnecting said indication and actuation means with said resonance!- varying device.

3. A portable radio receiver including a casing and a carrying handle projecting thereabove and having racurvedsuriace, means Jim-said casing for controlling the operation or said. receiverim eluding aresonanceevarying devicaatuning' scale on said handle arranged along the curved surface thereof, an: indicator in said handlev movable along said curved surface in? cooperation with said scale, axmanually actuable, element recessed into said handle near one end of the handle structure, and driving means adapted to efiect adjustment of said resonance-varying device and movement of said indicator along said curved surface in response to adjustment movements of said manually actuable element.

4. In a carrying handle for a radio receiver having a tuning element, a pair of opposed separable sections cooperating to form a hollow handle structure, said structure having a portion adapted to be gripped by the hand and a depend-' ing portion adapted to be fixed to a receiver, said handle further having a recess formed therein adjacent said depending portion and adapted to receive a control element, a tuning scaleand associated indicating means in said first-named portion of the handle, and a flexible element substantially concealed in said handle structure and drivingiy connected to said indicating means, said flexible element being adapted to be connected for actuation in correspondence with the receiver tunin element.

5. In a carrying handle for a radio receiver, a pair of opposed concave sections separable along a line extending substantially longitudinally of the handle and normally cooperating to form a hollow handle structure, atunlng scale adjacent the outer surface of said structure, a movable indicator cooperating with said scale, an elongated flexible driving element substantially concealed within said structure and associated with said indicator to effect movement of the same, and means in said handle guiding the movement of said indicator with respect to said scale.

6. In a carrying handle for a radio receiver, a pair of opposed concave sections separable alon a line extending substantially longitudinally of the handle and normally cooperating to form a hollow handle structure, said sections having cooperating portions forming support and securing means both for the structure with relation to a receiver and for said sections with relation to one another, indicator means including a movable member within said structure, bearing portions on one of said sections, a flexible driving element for said member supported by said bearing portions, and means on the other of said sections cooperating with said bearing portions to retain said driving element in supported relation therewith.

7. A portable radio receiver, comprising a casing, a carrying handle having a gripping portion and end portions secured to said casing, tuning means in said casing, volume control means in said casing, tuning indicator means in the gripping portion of said handle, a manual tuning element recessed in one end portion of said handle, a manual volume control element recessed in the other end portion of said handle, means operatively interconnecting said indicator means and said manual tuning element with said tuning means, and means operatively interconnecting said manual volume control element with said volume control means.

8. A portable radio receiver, comprising a casing and a carrying handle having a gripping portion, means at opposite ends of the gripping portion for securing the handle to the casing, tuning means for said receiver, tuning indicator 'mean diatef gflppingflporticnr spece'd': from the casing;

in the gripping portion'of said handle, and means tuhihgmeans'for" said receiver, tuning. indicator for actuating. said indicator means in correspond-V 7 means in the gripping portion of said handle, and

crime to the tuning of the receiver. means for actuating saidindicator means incor- 9. A portable radio receiver, comprising a casrespondence to the tuning of the receiver..

ing, a carrying handle having its opposite ends secured to said casing and having an interme- RICHARD 'J. WHIPPLE. I 

